Hero of her Heart
by cleotheo
Summary: A mugging brings Aurors, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley back into contact with their former best friend, Hermione Granger. What will they discover about her life, and can the trio mend old wounds and restart their friendship? Four part reunion story.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N – This story is just a little four part reunion style story. I'll be publishing it all this week so you get the entire thing back to back. Enjoy!**

* * *

It was a warm afternoon in late August when Aurors, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley were called to Diagon Alley to deal with a mugging. A couple of M.L.E officers had been dispatched when the incident was first reported, but Harry and Ron were heading to the crime scene as it sounded like the latest victim had been targeted by the same gang of youths that had been targeting shoppers in Diagon Alley all summer. However, this time the muggers had gone one step further and stabbed a friendly by-passer who'd tried to stop them from stealing a young witch's bag.

Arriving in Diagon Alley, Harry and Ron made their way to a new café which had recently opened in the street. The mugging had taken place outside of the café, and M.L.E officers had settled the victim inside the café as they took statements from her and the witnesses to the incident. Entering the café, Harry and Ron found the victim was a young witch in her late teens or early twenties, and she was also heavily pregnant.

"Hi, I'm Harry Potter," Harry said with a friendly smile as he introduced himself to the young witch. "And this is my partner, Ron Weasley."

"Keira Blake," The witch replied. Of course she knew who Harry and Ron were as they were war heroes following their victory over Voldemort five years ago, plus she attended Hogwarts a few years below them, although she was a Hufflepuff, so there was no reason for the two men to even know they'd been at school together.

"What happened Miss Blake?" Ron asked, noticing the presence of an engagement ring on her finger, but no wedding ring.

"I was just coming out of the café when this boy bumped into me and grabbed my bag," Keira replied. "I was so shocked, I barely registered what had happened. But there was a woman coming out of the café behind me, and she started shouting about my bag being taken. A wizard was just emerging from the jewellers over the road at the same time, and he took off after the young lad."

"Did he catch him?" Harry asked, even though he knew the answer.

"Yes, and he got my bag back off him," Keira answered, patting the bag that was sitting on the table now the M.L.E officers had checked it over and deduced that they wouldn't be able to get any prints off it. "But the young boy got away."

"How?" Ron questioned.

"He stabbed him," Keira answered shakily. "I couldn't believe it. Here was this nice man, just trying to help me, and he ended up getting stabbed. Do you know if he's okay?"

"Dennis?" Harry called, turning round and gesturing for Dennis Creevey, one of the M.L.E officers to come over. "Do you have any word on our Good Samaritan?"

"The Medi-Wizards took him to St Mungo's," Dennis answered. "They said the stab wound missed everything vital and wasn't as bad as it first appeared. They were confident he would be just fine."

"What a relief," Keira sighed. "I'll have to make sure to thank him."

"I'm sure you can see him when you go to the hospital," Harry said. "I take it you are going to go and get checked out?"

"I am," Keira replied with a nod. "I just wanted to wait and give my statement. Plus, my fiancé is on his way."

"Good." Harry smiled at the young witch. "We'll get on so your fiancé can take you to St Mungo's as soon as he arrives. Can you tell us anything at all about the boy who mugged you?"

"Not much I'm afraid, it all happened so fast."

"Anything you can remember will be great," Ron said, giving the witch a reassuring smile. "Even the smallest thing could help us catch him."

For the next ten minutes, Harry and Ron sat with the young witch as she did her best to recall some details of her mugging. By the time they'd finished they had a vague description of her mugger, but it really wasn't much to go on. So far none of the victims had been able to give any sort of decent description of their mugger. The entire thing happened so fast and took people so much by surprise that more often than not a description was hard to come by. The only reason they knew it was a gang is that the shop owners had been complaining of youths hanging around causing trouble, and a few of the vague descriptions they had received varied from mugging to mugging.

"Did you get anything?" Dennis asked as Harry and Ron approached him after talking to the victim, who was now on her way for hospital for a check-up.

"Same as always," Ron replied with a sigh. "A vague description. The only thing we keep getting is that these boys are teenagers. Most likely they're still at school, or have just left."

"I've already set up a meeting with Minerva McGonagall," Harry said. "We're going to go and speak to the students once school starts up next week. It'll be interesting to see if these muggings stop once Hogwarts is back. If they do, we know that's likely where our culprits are from, and if that's the case we can try and get them to confess before they do some real damage to someone."

"I think they've already crossed that line, Harry," Ron said. "They've put a wizard in hospital today. Speaking of which, I suppose we should go and see this have-a-go hero. Maybe he got a better view of the mugger."

"What can you tell us about him, Dennis?" Harry asked.

"You mean, you don't know who it was?" Dennis asked with a small chuckle.

"No, who was it?" Ron asked.

"Draco Malfoy."

Harry and Ron shared a surprise look at the news that Draco had been their Good Samaritan. The boys had long since given up their beliefs that Draco was evil. The war had proven that, when he'd been forced to do Voldemort's bidding in order to protect his mother. The devotion he'd shown to Narcissa, and the lengths he'd gone to just to keep her safe had both Harry and Ron admitting they'd been wrong about him. However, despite their revised opinions on the blond neither would have pegged him as the heroic type. His actions during the war were done to protect someone he loved, they couldn't really imagine him tackling a mugger for a witch he didn't know. Either there was more to the story they didn't know, or else there was another side to Draco Malfoy that neither one of them had seen.

"You sure it was the same Draco Malfoy?" Ron asked Dennis.

"How many do you think there is?" Dennis chuckled. "I spoke to him myself. It was definitely Draco Malfoy."

"Did he say why he went after the mugger?" Harry asked.

"He said he was coming out of the jewellers, and saw the entire thing," Dennis replied. "He said he just reacted and took off after the mugger. He caught him and got the bag back, but he didn't see the young lad had a knife. He'd been stabbed in the side before he knew what was happening. But he still managed to get the bag back to Miss Blake."

"Malfoy the hero, who would have thought," Harry chuckled. "I guess we better go and pay him a visit. Do you have everything under control here, Dennis?"

"Of course," Dennis replied. "I'll see you back at the Ministry and I can hand over the witness statements."

"Thanks Dennis," Ron said, as he and Harry turned to leave for St Mungo's.

At St Mungo's the two Aurors faced a bit of a wait as they tried to get to see Draco. They happened to arrive at the same time as a group of people who'd all come down with food poisoning after eating at the same restaurant. Finally the group with the food poisoning were ushered off to a ward somewhere, and Harry and Ron could speak with the witch on reception. The witch pointed them in the direction of the floor where they would find Draco, although she couldn't give them any details of his condition.

"Hi, we're Aurors and we're here to see Draco Malfoy," Harry announced to the Medi-Witch on duty as they reached the correct floor and found the ward Draco was on.

The Medi-Witch checked both Harry and Ron's identities, before she consulted her paperwork. "Mr Malfoy is in a private room at the end of the hall, room three-six-five."

"And how is he?" Harry asked, wondering what state they would find the blond in.

"Rather well considering," The Medi-Witch answered. "The wound wasn't as bad as was initially feared, and he didn't need any sort of major procedure. A few spells have patched him up, all he needs is a few days' rest."

"Is he up for talking to us?" Harry checked.

"He should be fine," The Medi-Witch answered. "But I can check with a Healer if you want. In fact, I think I saw a Healer entering his room a few minutes ago."

"It's okay, we can check when we go in," Harry said. If it all possible he wanted to talk to Draco as soon as possible, as he didn't want the blond forgetting anything vital.

After reassuring the Medi-Witch they wouldn't bother Draco if he wasn't feeling up to visitors, the two Aurors headed off down the corridor towards the private rooms at the end of the ward. Finding the right room, they were just about to knock when a familiar voice sounded from behind the door.

"Will you stop moving and lie back down," The voice ordered sternly. "You need rest."

"I'm telling you, I'm fine," Draco protested.

"And I'm telling you, you're not. You've just been stabbed, and you're lucky you didn't need any major treatment. I'm the Healer and I'm telling you to lie down and rest."

"You're so bossy, Granger," Draco drawled, clearly amused by something.

Harry and Ron didn't hear if Hermione had responded as they were both preparing themselves to come face to face with their former best friend. For eight years, Hermione Granger had been a major part of their life. She'd been there throughout all their adventures in school and she'd helped them defeat Voldemort. After the war she'd even gotten romantically involved with Ron, and for a year the pair were blissfully happy.

The problems had started once Hermione had finished re-taking her final year at Hogwarts, which she'd done so she would have the relevant qualifications to train to be a Healer. While Hermione had been up at Hogwarts, alongside Ginny, Ron and Harry had been living together in small flat overlooking Diagon Alley. However, once Ginny finished school, she and Harry found somewhere of their own, and Ron had assumed that he and Hermione would be doing the same. However, Hermione had other ideas and she'd made it clear to Ron that she wasn't ready to live with him. Ron had taken her refusal to live with him as rejection and within months things had turned sour between the couple. When they split six months later, it was a bitter affair and it was impossible for Hermione to remain in their lives the way things were. Unfortunately, when everyone had seemed to take Ron's side in their break-up, Hermione had cut off all contact with her former friends, and none of them had heard from her since.

"If this is too difficult, I can do this on my own," Harry said to Ron.

"No," Ron answered with a shake of his head. "I'm your partner, and we're doing this together. Besides, I owe Hermione an apology. I treated her appallingly when we broke up. I really should have apologised years ago, I just didn't have the guts."

"Join the club," Harry muttered. Several time he'd thought about apologising to Hermione, and a few times he'd even looked out for her when he was at the hospital, but he'd never actually followed through and apologised to the witch he'd once loved as a sister. "I guess Hermione will be getting two apologies today."

"I guess she will," Ron agreed with a nod. "Are you ready?"

Harry nodded, and taking a deep breath, he pushed open the door to Draco's room. As the door opened, Harry and Ron gaped at the sight that greeted them in shock. Draco was settled in a large, crisp hospital bed, and Hermione was sitting on the side of the bed. However, she wasn't just sitting chatting with the blond, the pair were locked in a steamy embrace, and even from the doorway they could see Draco had his hand up her tight, dark blue skirt. Hermione was taking having a good bedside manner to a whole other level, and the two Aurors were totally shocked to see her acting so unprofessional with one of her patients. What on earth had happened to the girl they used to know? Surely she hadn't changed that much in the three and a half years since they'd last seen her.


	2. Chapter 2

Hermione Granger hummed happily to herself as she headed towards the staff canteen on her break. Hermione was a Healer at St Mungo's, and she was carrying some literature on specialising in a specific area of magical medicine to look over during her break. Even though Hermione was still a junior Healer and had actually only been fully qualified for just over a year, she was confident she was clever enough to specialise in one area. Besides, it might be nice to work in the same area of the hospital, rather than all over it as she did at the moment.

When Hermione entered the staff canteen, she spotted Juliette, one of the witches she'd done her healer training alongside, so grabbing a sandwich and a drink she went to join her friend. Juliette was actually a year younger than Hermione, since Hermione had gone back to Hogwarts after the war to take her N.E.W.T.S. Juliette had attended Beauxbatons, rather than Hogwarts, as her parents had been working in France when she'd started school. However, Juliette had chosen to do her medical training, and work in England as her parents had returned to their home town after she'd graduated from Beauxbatons.

"You're not taking more exams, are you?" Juliette chuckled as Hermione dropped her leaflets onto the table and slid into the seat beside her.

"Not yet," Hermione replied with a smile. "But I am thinking of looking into specialising."

"What area?" Juliette asked as she flicked through Hermione's leaflets.

"I'm not sure yet, maybe paediatrics," Hermione answered. "I was up on paediatrics last month and I really enjoyed it. I loved spending the day with the children."

"It sounds to me as though you're getting broody," Juliette laughed. "Maybe you just want a baby. Not that I can blame you on that score, you and Draco would have gorgeous kids."

"We're not really ready for kids yet," Hermione replied with a smile.

"And that tends to be when children come along," Juliette said wisely as she got to her feet. "Anyway, I've got to get back to work. See you later, Hermione."

"Bye," Hermione said, watching her friend exit the canteen.

Turning back to her leaflets, Hermione tried to concentrate on her idea to specialise, but all she could think about was what Juliette had just said. Instead of thoughts of picking a specialist area, the only thing in Hermione's head were images of a blond, grey eyed baby. Maybe her friend was right, and she was getting broody. Although she also stood by her insistence that it was too soon for her and Draco to be having children. They'd only been together for two years, and even though they'd just moved in together, Hermione thought children were still a decent way in the future for the couple.

Hermione and Draco had first re-met a little over two years ago, in the small wizarding village where Hermione lived. Initially after leaving school, Hermione had rented a flat in central wizarding London, but after her nasty break up with Ron, she'd used the money she'd received from the Ministry for her part in helping to bring down Voldemort and bought a small cottage in a quiet wizarding village a few miles from London. Hermione had been living in the village for nearly a year when she'd literally bumped into Draco in the small grocers in the centre of the village. The collision had caused Hermione to drop all her shopping, and Draco had kindly picked it up for her and offered to buy her a drink to make amends. Since they'd put the past behind them directly after the war, Hermione had taken him up on his offer and they'd had a very nice drink together in the local pub.

As it turned out, Draco had just bought one of the new, luxurious three story houses over the other side of the village, so the pair were practically neighbours. After a few weeks living in the same village, they kept running into each other, so Draco asked Hermione out for another drink. Having a drink together soon became a habit, and drinks soon turned to proper dates. When things had started, Hermione had honestly just thought that they would end up as friends, she didn't expect to totally fall for the blond wizard who used to taunt her when she was at school. But fall for him she did, and two years later, she was head over heels for Draco, and he felt the same about her.

A few weeks ago, Hermione had moved into Draco's house, after months of pleading from the blond wizard. Hermione had wanted to be sure of things before she moved in with Draco, and even though she very much saw their future together, she hadn't sold her cottage. Instead she'd rented it out, but she'd already decided that she would look into selling it as long as things continued to run smoothly with her relationship with Draco. Not that Hermione really foresaw any problems in that department, because even though they were very different in some respects, they made a very compatible couple. One thing Hermione knew for certain was that she was much better suited with Draco then she'd ever been with Ron.

Smiling at thoughts of her boyfriend, Hermione decided to take the leaflets home with her and discuss things with Draco. Unlike Ron, who'd only ever wanted to talk about his own career as an Auror, Draco was interested in her work and she knew he would listen to her as she debated training to become a specialist. Draco would also offer his own opinions, but at the end of the day, he would support whatever she decided to do. It was her life and her career, and Draco respected that.

Finishing off her sandwich and coffee, Hermione gathered her leaflets to leave when the doors to the cafeteria flew open and Juliette burst in. Hermione looked up in surprise as her friend's dramatic entrance, but her surprise turned to dread when Juliette rushed over to her.

"Hermione, you need to come with me," Juliette said. "Draco's just been brought in."

"What happened?" Hermione asked, abandoning her leaflets and rushing towards the canteen doors.

"He was stabbed," Juliette replied.

"Stabbed?" Hermione repeated with a frown. Injuries like stabbing were rare in the wizarding world as most people used magic to hurt one another. "How the hell did that happen?"

"I don't know the complete story, I came to find you," Juliette answered. "But from what I could gather, he tried to stop a mugger in Diagon Alley and got stabbed for his trouble."

Despite the worry she felt, Hermione couldn't help but be proud of Draco. There was a time when he would have just turned away and not bothered to help when someone else was in trouble, but that was a long time ago and he was now a very different person to the selfish boy she'd went to school with. The war had completely changed him, and he was now a good man, who would always do what he could to help others.

Juliette rushed Hermione down to the emergency department, where Draco had been admitted. Rushing into the room he was being treated in, Hermione gasped when she set eyes on her boyfriend. The light blue shirt he was wearing was drenched with blood, and she could see a gaping hole in his side where the shirt had been pulled away from the injury. Draco himself was also a lot paler than usual, and even from across the room, Hermione could see how much pain he was in.

"Healer Granger, come over here and help," Healer Jackson, one of the senior Healers in the hospital called before turning to Juliette. "Healer Kay, go and make sure someone is covering Healer Granger's normal shift, she'll be staying here with me."

While Juliette hurried off to make sure Hermione's workload was covered, Hermione hurried over to her boyfriend's side. As well as Healer Jackson, there were a couple of Medi-Witches working on Draco.

"Hey," Draco said with a grimace as Healer Jackson removed his shirt completely and checked out his injury.

"Hey," Hermione replied, dropping a kiss to her boyfriend's head. "What the hell were you playing at?"

"I was just eager to see you," Draco joked.

"I'd rather see you all in one piece," Hermione answered with a sigh. "Does it hurt?"

"Like hell," Draco admitted.

Turning to one of the Medi-Witches, Hermione ordered some pain relief for Draco, before turning to Healer Jackson. "How is it?"

"I want to do a scan, but I think we've been very lucky," Healer Jackson answered. "Once you've given Mr Malfoy his pain relief, keep him still while I scan him."

Hermione nodded as she turned back in time to take the pain relief from one of the Medi-Witches. Giving Draco the potion, she waited a few minutes until it began to take hold, before ordering her boyfriend to remain still. While Hermione made sure Draco didn't move, Healer Jackson began a magical scan of the stab wound. The scan produced an image of Draco's insides in the air beside Healer Jackson, and with magic he was able to check for internal damage without having to cut Draco open.

"I was right, we've been very lucky," Healer Jackson announced. "The blade missed all your vital organs, Mr Malfoy. It does look likes it's nicked a rib, so that will likely be sore for a few days, but it will heal in its own time."

"What now?" Draco asked.

"Now we close and clean the wound, replace the blood you've lost, and bandage you up to prevent a re-breaking of the wound," Healer Jackson answered. "With the help of pain relief, you should be able to go home this evening. Although you will have to take it easy for a few days. I would suggest a couple of day's bed rest."

"Don't worry, I'll make sure he rests," Hermione reassured the older Healer. She actually had some holidays owing, and given the fact she was always the first to help out if people needed time off, Hermione was confident she could take a few days off to properly look after Draco.

"Now, this might be a bit uncomfortable, Mr Malfoy," Healer Jackson said as he prepared to clean and heal the stab wound.

"I can cope," Draco replied.

The next ten minutes were very uncomfortable for Draco as Hermione and Healer Jackson, cleaned Draco's wound and magically bound his skin back together. One of the Medi-Witches then washed the blood from Draco's torso and wrapped a preventive bandage around his waist. Healer Jackson then administered a blood replenishing potion, which would replace the blood he'd lost due to his stabbing.

"I want Mr Malfoy moving up to the recovery ward," Healer Jackson said to one of the Medi-Witches. "Healer Granger, you can keep an eye on him to make sure the blood replenishing potion is working. I also want you to sort out his pain medication. I'll be up to see him in a few hours, and we can talk about discharging him then."

While Healer Jackson headed off to deal with his other patients, Hermione oversaw Draco's transfer to the ward. The ward Draco had been moved to, was specifically for people who had passed through the emergency department, and were recovering from whatever they'd been treated for. Patients on the recovery ward rarely stayed on the ward long, they were either discharged after an hour or two or moved to one of the other wards designed for patients who needed longer term treatment.

While Draco was being settled in his room, Hermione sorted his pain relief prescriptions. She also thought about contacting his parents, but since he was hoping to be discharged that evening, Draco had asked her to hold off on letting his parents know he was in hospital. Hermione knew the news would only panic Narcissa, and both she and Lucius would rush to St Mungo's, and there was really nothing they could do. It really wouldn't make much difference if Hermione contacted them once Draco was at home, and they could then visit him at home.

It only took Hermione half an hour to sort everything for Draco, arrange some holidays and to check the rest of her shift was covered. She then returned to Draco's room, to find her boyfriend lying in bed, glaring hatefully at the white shift style shirt one of the Medi-Witches had put him in.

"Have you seen this thing?" Draco complained. "It's hideous."

"It's not very flattering, I agree," Hermione said, with a slight smirk. She'd never seen Draco wearing anything that wasn't the highest quality, and it was rather amusing to see his reaction to the basic hospital wear on offer at St. Mungo's.

"Can I take it off?" Draco asked.

"No, your shirt was completely ruined," Hermione replied. "Not only was it covered in blood, but it was torn where the knife went through it."

"Damn, I liked that shirt," Draco grumbled.

"I'll buy you another," Hermione offered. "I'm just pleased the shirt was the only thing that was ruined. I was so worried when Juliette said you'd been stabbed."

"It'll take more than some little hooligan with a knife to get rid of me," Draco answered. "If I survived The Dark Lord, I can survive anything."

"I'd rather not put that to the test," Hermione whispered as she perched on the bed beside Draco. "I'm really proud of you trying to stop a mugging, but I would rather you didn't put yourself in danger. I don't want to lose you, Draco."

"I'm not going anywhere," Draco vowed as he took hold of Hermione's hand. "You're stuck with me, Granger."

"Good, I've become rather attached to you," Hermione replied with a weak smile.

"You don't need to worry about me, I'm fine," Draco said confidently as he tried to sit further up and was promptly pushed back down by his girlfriend.

"Will you stop moving and lie back down," Hermione ordered sternly. "You need rest."

"I'm telling you, I'm fine," Draco protested, rolling his eyes at his girlfriend.

"And I'm telling you, you're not. You've just been stabbed, and you're lucky you didn't need any major treatment. I'm the Healer and I'm telling you to lie down and rest," Hermione retorted.

"You're so bossy, Granger," Draco replied with a wicked grin. "I love it when you're bossy," He whispered seductively.

Hermione laughed lightly as she leant forward and rested her forehead against Draco's, her lips inches from his. "You're going to be under my control for the next few days, and something tells me you're going to be a difficult patient that needs a firm hand. I'm sure you'll see plenty of my bossy side."

"I can't wait," Draco replied, before he closed the small gap between their lips.

Despite Draco's injuries and the fact he needed to rest, Hermione couldn't help but kiss her boyfriend back. She didn't even object when his hand moved to her thigh, and slid under her skirt. It was only when she felt Draco's fingers reach the edge of her lacy knickers that she pulled back, deciding it was best to stop things before they got too far.

"Later," She promised with a small smile.

"I'll look forward to it," Draco replied, smiling back at his girlfriend.

For a moment, the couple were in their own little world, but then someone cleared their throat in the doorway, and when Hermione whirled round she found herself looking at her two former best friends. It had never occurred to her that someone from the Ministry would want to speak to Draco about what had happened, but even if it had, she wouldn't have thought Harry and Ron would have been the Aurors sent to deal with it. Now it looked like it was time for Hermione to finally face her past.


	3. Chapter 3

For a couple of minutes silence reigned in the hospital room as Hermione, Harry and Ron just looked at each other. Hermione was still stunned to see her former friend and boyfriend enter the room, while Harry and Ron were just as shocked after witnessing the way Hermione had been interacting with Draco. Unsurprisingly, all of Ron's good intentions to apologise to his ex-girlfriend were rapidly leaving him as he mulled over how unprofessional Hermione had turned out to be.

Draco took in the sight before he cleared his throat. "Are we just going to stand looking at each other all day, or is anyone going to speak?"

"Sorry," Harry mumbled, his eyes never leaving Hermione. "It's just nice to see you, Hermione."

"It's nice to see you too, Harry," Hermione replied, before her eyes flicked over to her ex. "And you as well, Ron. You're looking well."

"So are you," Ron offered, letting his gaze wander over Hermione and remembering just how hot she looked without her clothes on.

"This is lovely, but do you think we can maybe get to the point of your visit," Draco snapped, not at all impressed by the looks Ron was giving Hermione.

"Sorry," Harry apologised again, this time focusing on Draco. "As you've probably guessed we're here to talk about what happened in Diagon Alley."

"The thought had crossed my mind," Draco muttered. "But before we begin, just let me sit up."

"Be careful," Hermione warned as she leant over and helped Draco move so he was sitting further up in the bed. "Are you okay?" She asked once he was settled.

"I'm fine, well unless you count this shirt, which I still don't like by the way," Draco replied with a slight smile.

"I've already told you, there's nothing I can do about that," Hermione answered, chuckling slightly at her boyfriend. "You'll be out of here soon enough, you can change when you get home."

"Or I could just go topless," Draco suggested. "It would give you something to admire as you looked after me."

"Yes, because that will make my day, seeing you topless," Hermione replied with a roll of her eyes.

"If I wanted to do that, I'd take off the rest of my clothes as well," Draco retorted, giving Hermione a saucy wink.

"Behave," Hermione warned with a smile as she straightened back up. When she turned her head, she found both Harry and Ron watching her with open mouths. "What?"

"Nothing," Harry replied, averting his gaze.

"Don't try that," Hermione said. "You forget, I know you both too well. You want to say something, so say it."

"Fine, I'll say it," Ron declared when Harry remained silent. "What the hell are you doing, Hermione? You're a healer."

"I'm well aware of my job, Ronald," Hermione interrupted.

"And are healer's supposed to go around snogging their patients?" Ron demanded. "I thought you were better than that, Hermione."

"Do not speak to her that way," Draco snarled, pushing back the covers to get out of bed.

"Draco, stop it." Hermione quickly re-focused on her boyfriend, stopping him from getting out of bed. "You'll split your side if you carry on wriggling around like this. You need to stay still and rest."

"I won't have him talking about you like that," Draco snarled. "He's implying you're unprofessional, and you're not."

"That's not what it looked like," Ron snorted. "How many healers do you find making out with their patients?"

"I was not kissing my patient, I was kissing my boyfriend," Hermione clarified. "Not that it is any of your business."

"You and Malfoy?" Ron spat, as Harry just looked at the couple in shock. "Are you serious? You're shagging the ferret? That's the most mind-numbingly stupid thing you've ever done."

"Get out," Draco snapped, although he remained in bed.

"Malfoy, we need to talk to you," Harry protested.

"I'll talk to you, but not Weasley," Draco replied. "Not unless he apologises for the way he keeps speaking to Hermione."

"Ron apologise," Harry hissed. He was just as shocked as Ron to find out Hermione was with Draco, but he didn't see how making a fuss was going to achieve anything, not when they'd pretty much ignored Hermione for three and a half years.

"Apologise for what?" Ron demanded. "Speaking the truth. You think this is just as sick as I do. Obviously since we've stopped seeing each other, Hermione has lost all sense of decency. What witch with any self-respect would shag a ferrety Death Eater like Malfoy?"

"And that right there is why we're no longer together," Hermione said sadly as she held up her hand to stop Draco from jumping to her defence again. "Did you never wonder why I wouldn't move in with you, Ron? Did you ever wonder that why after a year together, I still wasn't sure about us? That attitude you've just displayed is the reason. I tried to believe that you'd grown up and stopped judging people, but every time I thought you'd outgrown it, you would do or say something to prove me wrong. You would talk about a case at work, and every time you spoke about someone you didn't like the insults would come out. That's why I wouldn't move in with you, I didn't want to commit to someone who was so judgemental."

"And he's not?" Ron snorted, pointing to Draco. "He's the most judgemental person I've ever met. He judged me back in school, just for being a Weasley."

"And you judged him for being a Malfoy," Hermione retorted. "The difference is, Draco grew up and he stopped judging people. He gets to know people before he casts aspersions on them. It looks like you still haven't learnt that lesson. Even today, when you've come to speak to him about trying to help someone, you're still judging him on his past. Why can't you just admit that you don't know Draco anymore, and you have no idea what sort of person he is."

Hermione's words hung heavy in the air, and everyone could see they'd hit home for Ron. For the first time, someone had called him out on his judgemental behaviour, and he was starting to see how wrong he'd been. All this time he'd been hating Draco for judging him before he knew him, but he'd done the exact same thing.

"You're right," He finally admitted in a small voice. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said any of that stuff. I was just shocked to find you're with Malfoy."

"Maybe you wouldn't have been if you hadn't ditched her from your life completely," Draco pointed out. He wasn't trying to be antagonistic, but he wasn't sure if Hermione would raise the way she'd been dumped from her friends' lives, and he felt she deserved to get an apology for the brutal way she'd been cut off following her split from Ron.

"Look, I'm sorry for judging you, but you know nothing about the past and what happened," Ron said to the blond wizard, barely suppressing a snarl.

"I know you all ditched Hermione when the pair of you broke up," Draco replied. "I can understand that things wouldn't be the same, but to cut her from your life and get all your friends to side with you, is a bit harsh."

"You know nothing about it, so keep your opinions to yourself," Ron snapped.

"No," Draco said, shaking his head slightly. "I won't keep my opinions to myself. Hermione is my girlfriend, and I care about her feelings. You might not know how much you hurt her, but I do. I know how alone she felt when you cut off contact and alienated her from your friends. I'll call it like I see it, Weasley, and I say, that was a shitty move."

"Perhaps we can discuss this at a later point," Hermione interrupted, sensing her boyfriend and ex were about to get into an explosive argument. "Since Ron has now apologised, maybe we can get on with the witness statement."

"Of course," Harry said with a nod. "But for the record, Hermione, I agree with Malfoy. We were horrible to you, and you didn't deserve it. We shouldn't have shunned you the way we did, and I'm so very sorry."

"Thank you, Harry. I appreciate your apology," Hermione said, giving her former friend a small smile.

"I'm sorry too," Ron admitted. "I never should have forced people to choose between us, especially not my family as they were obviously all going to choose me. I was a git, Hermione, and I hope one day you can forgive me."

"I'm sure I can," Hermione replied. "Especially if you can find the bastard that stabbed my boyfriend."

"That we can do," Ron answered with a slight grin.

"We just need Malfoy's statement," Harry added. "If you just tell us in your own words what happened, and we'll ask any necessary questions," He told the blond.

Draco nodded, as he began to tell the two Aurors what had happened. "It all happened to quick, but I'll try my best to remember as much as I can. It was lunchtime and I just nipped to the shops to check on something I'd ordered a few days previously." He'd actually gone to the jewellers to check on a necklace he'd ordered for Hermione's upcoming birthday, but with her sitting beside him, he didn't want to mention that. "As I was coming out, I saw someone bump into a pregnant woman who was coming out the café opposite. At first, I thought he was just being rude and I was going to go and check she was okay, but the woman behind her started shouting about a mugging, and when I looked at the person running away, I could see he was carrying a woman's bag. Without thinking, I just ran after him. I grabbed him and tackled him to the floor, and got the bag back off him easily enough. It was when I moved to haul him to his feet that he produced a knife I hadn't seen and he stabbed me. He used the opportunity to get away."

"Can you give us a description of your attacker?" Ron asked.

"Young, late teens I think," Draco answered. "He was wearing a cloak with a hood, but when I tackled him it fell down. He had brown hair, average looking features, shorter than me, fairly athletic build. If it helps, I think I'd seem him hanging around earlier."

"Alone?" Harry asked.

"No, before I went shopping, I popped into the bank," Draco replied. "When I was going into the bank, I spotted a gang of five or six lads hanging out down the side of the joke shop. I'd decided that if they were still there when I came out of the bank, I would go and let George know, but when I came out they were gone."

"George?" Ron repeated in a surprised voice.

"Yes, your brother," Draco explained. "He owns the joke shop, you know."

"I know that," Ron snapped. "But why would you want to go and talk to him?"

"I just thought he might have wanted to know there was gang of youths hanging around his shop," Draco answered. "They weren't hanging around outside, like most kids do. They were down the side alley, all with dark cloaks and hoods up, and I thought they looked suspicious. In George's position, I would have wanted to know about them. But when I came out they'd moved on, and everything looked fine, so carried on about my business."

"Why the hell are you talking about my brother as though you know him?" Ron demanded, feeling his temper flaring yet again. It seemed like every time he tried to give Draco a chance, the blond did something else to infuriate him.

"Because I do," Draco replied with a smirk. "We're quite good friends, actually."

"I introduced them," Hermione explained, knowing that Draco would continue to toy with Ron because he could see the redhead was getting annoyed. "You were wrong earlier, when you said all your family sided with you, Ron. Granted most of them did, but George never stopped talking to me. We've been friends this entire time, and I still exchange letters and cards with Charlie."

"Bloody hell, they never said," Ron muttered.

"Maybe because they knew how you'd react," Hermione suggested. "But that was their business, I never asked them to keep quiet about me. I was just grateful that some people realised they didn't have to choose. There was a way to keep me in their lives, yet still have you in them as well."

Harry shuffled uncomfortably from foot to foot, recognising Hermione's barb at being aimed at him. He could have been like George and Charlie, and remained friends with Hermione, but instead he'd cut her off like Ron had wanted. What he should have done was stand up for his friendship with Hermione, and told Ron he could be friends with them both. Unfortunately, he hadn't done anything like that, and he now just had to hope that Hermione would let him back into her life.

"So do you think you can catch whoever did this?" Draco asked, returning focus to the matter in hand.

"We're hopeful," Harry answered. "To be honest, there's been a spate of these bag snatchings in the last few weeks. We were thinking it was a gang, and what you've just told us verifies that. We also think the gang is made up of school children. No magic is ever used to get away with the bags, they always just run. And then there's the knife, with a wand there'd be no need for a knife."

"They're worried about underage magic," Hermione deduced. "Even in Diagon Alley, they're worried they'll be traced through their magic."

"And they just might have been," Ron said. "We've got much better tracking spells for underage magic these days."

"But even without that, we've got somewhere to start," Harry promised the couple. "When Hogwarts goes back, we're going to go and speak to the students, rattle a few cages."

"You think someone will own up?" Draco asked sceptically.

"Maybe not right away, but they will," Harry replied with confidence. "There'll be one weak link in the group. One of them will be good enough to do the right thing."

"You hope," Draco muttered. Personally, he didn't have as much faith in the youths as Harry did, but he would love to be proved wrong.

"Trust us Malfoy, we'll find whoever did this to you," Harry vowed. "But for now, I think that's it. If we could just have an address for where to contact you."

"I'll sort all that," Hermione said, before turning to her boyfriend. "You just rest and behave yourself. I'll be back in two minutes."

Hermione gave her boyfriend a quick peck, before she led Harry and Ron out of the room. Once outside in the corridor, she gave Harry their address, so the Aurors could contact Draco if they needed to talk to him further.

"And what about things between us?" Harry asked. "Can we see you again?"

"Do you want to?" Hermione asked, glancing over at Ron.

"Yes," Ron replied. "And I promise, I won't say a word against Malfoy."

"Good, because if you did, I would be the one leaving and you would never see me again," Hermione replied. "I can't promise things can just go back to the way they were, but I would be willing to try. Maybe we can meet up for a drink one evening."

"That would be great," Harry gushed.

"It would," Ron agreed. "Do you want us to contact you at the hospital, or somewhere else?"

"An owl will find me, but I've just given Harry my address," Hermione answered, watching Ron for his reaction. Surprisingly the redhead just raised his eyebrows at the realisation she lived with Draco.

"We'll be in touch then," Harry promised, relieved that Ron wasn't going to kick off again.

"I'll look forward to it," Hermione replied. Saying goodbye to the pair, she then headed back into her boyfriend's room so they could wait for Healer Jackson to arrive and discharge Draco.


	4. Chapter 4

Hermione flooed home from St Mungo's, looking forward to spending the rest of the day with her boyfriend. She'd spent all morning starting the process of looking into specialising, and she was keen to share her news with Draco. Since she first mentioned the idea, just after he was stabbed, Draco had been encouraging her to look into specialising if it was what she'd set her heart on doing. It had taken her a few weeks, but finally she'd now put her plan in motion.

Kicking off her shoes in the hallway and hanging up her jacket, Hermione headed into the living room. She found Draco lying on the large sofa, a book in his hand while the radio was quietly playing classical music. Hermione paused for a moment in the doorway, just appreciating the sight of her boyfriend being fit and healthy. It had been three weeks since Draco was stabbed, and he was practically back to normal. He was on the mildest pain relief potion available, and he'd returned to work the previous week. Of course, Hermione was still making sure that he took things easily, but she was satisfied his injury had healed perfectly.

"Hey, gorgeous," Draco said, looking up and smiling at his girlfriend. "Are you all sorted?"

"Yep," Hermione replied. "Everything is in place. I'll be transferring permanently to paediatrics, and of course I'll have to take a few more exams before I can really specialise."

"Of course you need to take exams," Draco chuckled as Hermione joined him on the sofa. "I think part of the appeal is the exams you now have to take. Just think of those hours of studying you can indulge in."

"I'm not doing this to take exams," Hermione replied, pouting at her boyfriend.

"Of course you're not, sweetheart," Draco soothed, taking hold of Hermione's hand and pulling her down on the sofa, so she was lying beside him. "I know you just want to excel in your career."

"I just thought it would be nice to work in one area," Hermione said, getting herself comfortable beside her boyfriend. "Although can you believe Juliette just said I was broody when I mentioned wanting to work with children."

"Are you?" Draco asked.

"What, feeling broody?" Hermione questioned with a slight smile.

"Yeah," Draco replied. "Have you thought about children?"

"I have," Hermione admitted. Truth be told, Hermione had been thinking about kids a lot since Juliette had first mentioned them. "Have you ever thought about them?"

"I might have done," Draco admitted. "I can just picture a lovely little baby with your warm brown eyes and wild curls."

"Funny, in my head I can picture a baby with your silky blond hair and grey eyes."

"It looks like we'll just have to have a couple of kids, one to take after me, and one to take after you."

"Or we could just have one that's the perfect blend of us both," Hermione suggested with a smile. "But I really do think this is a conversation for us to have in a couple of years. Right now, I'm just enjoying it being the two of us."

"It is pretty good," Draco replied, giving Hermione a wide smile. "And there's plenty of things we can do since there's just the two of us."

"Like what?" Hermione asked.

"Like making love on the sofa in the middle of the day," Draco responded as his hand slid under Hermione's top and caressed her soft skin.

"You're wicked," Hermione laughed as she pressed her lips against Draco's.

"And don't you love it," He muttered against Hermione's lips.

Hermione responded by slipping her hand under Draco's shirt, running her nails down his torso. As always with the couple, once they started to get frisky, it didn't take long for things to escalate. Within five minutes, Draco's shirt had been removed and Hermione's top was wide open, revealing her flimsy purple bra. Draco's hand had just slid down to unzip Hermione's skirt when there was a knock on the door.

"Leave it," Draco said, dropping his head to Hermione's breasts.

Hermione was more than happy to ignore the door as she was thoroughly enjoying Draco's ministrations. Plunging her hand in between them, she turned her attention to Draco's zipper, ignoring the door as someone knocked on it yet again. However as the knocking continued, Hermione reluctantly tore herself away from Draco.

"I really should get that," Hermione grumbled. "Whoever it is doesn't sound like they're going away."

"Whoever it is, I'm going to bloody kill them," Draco groaned.

"I'll get rid of them," Hermione vowed as she got up and hastily fasted her top. "Stay right here, and I'll be back so we can pick up from here."

"Hurry up, I get impatient," Draco called as Hermione exited the room, pulling the door shut behind her.

Hermione hurried over to the door, ready to quickly get rid of whoever had interrupted them as quickly as possible. However, when she opened the door she found Harry and Ron standing on the doorstep. Since they hadn't arranged to meet up, Hermione could only assume they were visiting on official business, she just hoped it finally some good news.

"Please tell me you've got something," Hermione said to the pair.

"We've got something," Harry answered with a slight smile. "Is Malfoy here?"

"He's in the front room, come on in," Hermione said, pulling open the door and allowing the pair into the hallway.

"Em, Hermione," Ron muttered with a slight blush. "Your top isn't fastened properly."

Hermione looked down at her top and swore quietly when she found several buttons fastened incorrectly, and there was even a gaping gap in her shirt, showing a decent portion of her cleavage. Hastily she turned away from the two wizards, and re-fastened her top correctly.

"Sorry," She apologised as she turned back to the pair.

"No need to apologise," Harry said. "You can do what you like in your own home. We're just sorry we disturbed you."

"It's okay," Hermione replied. "I'm sure Draco won't mind since you've got news. It is good news, isn't it?"

"It is," Ron confirmed with a nod as Hermione walked over to the door that led into the living room.

Hermione pushed the door to the living room open, freezing at the sight that greeted her. Just behind her, Harry and Ron let out twin gasps of shock and she didn't need to turn around to know both wizards had averted their eyes. Because laid out on the sofa, was a very naked, very aroused Draco. In the time she'd been gone, Draco had removed the rest of his clothes and was happily reclining on the sofa, arms crossed behind his head as he waited for Hermione to return. When the door first opened, he was wearing a large, predatory grin, but it faded when he spotted the two men behind his girlfriend.

"I think you might want to get dressed, babe," Hermione said, hiding her amusement at the situation. "We've got visitors."

"So I see," Draco muttered as he got off the sofa and quickly yanked on his trousers and shirt.

"It's safe to turn round, boys," Hermione informed her friends once she was sure Draco was decent.

Slowly Harry and Ron turned back to the front room, and only once they were sure that Draco was dressed did they enter the room and take seats in the chairs Hermione gestured to. While they were settling down, Hermione walked over to the sofa and sat down next to her boyfriend on the sofa.

"Have you caught them?" Draco asked. He was aware that neither Auror would quite look him in the eye after what they'd just seen, but he wasn't overly bothered by the fact. He wasn't ashamed of his body, and it didn't bother him in the slightest that both Harry and Ron had seen just what sort of package he had.

"We're questioning a group of five youths about the muggings," Harry answered. "As we promised we went up to Hogwarts when school went back and spoke to the students. It took us a few visits, but eventually one of the boys approached us and told us he was involved in the muggings. He gave us the names of everyone involved and we're currently talking to them about the muggings and your attack."

"However, it's taking slightly longer than normal since they're all only sixteen, and need to be interviewed with an appropriate adult," Ron added.

"Sixteen," Draco repeated. "You're telling me a bunch of sixth years did this?"

"Yeah, they've just gone into sixth year," Harry replied. "It seems to have started as a joke, and escalated as the boys got a buzz out of it. And we were right about the lack of magic, they were worried about someone tracing them."

"And what about the stabbing?" Hermione asked. "That was not just a joke. Whoever had that knife, meant to hurt someone."

"We're still trying to get to the bottom of that one," Ron confessed. "The boy who first spoke to us said he knew nothing about the stabbing until he saw the fuss in the papers. Another two of the boys are also saying they didn't know about the stabbing until afterwards."

"And the other two?" Draco asked.

"Are blaming each other," Harry replied. "Those two are the ringleaders, and they're each saying that it was the other one with the knife. None of the other three can say for definite who did the mugging as apparently the other two were arguing about whose turn it was. All five will be charged with the muggings, and at the moment both of the leaders will be charged with attempted murder."

"But you can't prosecute them both for the same crime," Draco argued. He knew enough about wizarding law to know that they both couldn't be put on trial for stabbing him as only one of them had done it.

"No, but if we charge them it gives us more room to manoeuvre," Ron said. "We will get to the bottom of this and find out which one of them stabbed you."

"Although to be honest, I think they both need taking off the streets," Harry admitted. "The other three boys aren't bad kids, they were just easily led. But these other two are dangerous. Neither of them seem bothered that someone was seriously hurt and could have been killed."

"Horrible," Hermione muttered, shaking her head at the thought.

"It is," Harry agreed. "Luckily we've caught them, or else I think it could have escalated. Next time, they might not have been as lucky, next time they could have killed someone."

"I'm just glad they didn't succeed this time," Hermione said, grasping Draco's hand in hers and giving it a squeeze. Draco gave Hermione a small smile as he squeezed back, reassuring her that he was still at her side and still in one piece.

"We'll keep you informed of how the case progresses," Harry said as he and Ron got to his feet.

"Thank you," Draco said.

"We're just doing our job," Harry replied. "Besides, it's had its up side," He added, smiling at Hermione.

"Speaking of which, how do you fancy coming to The Burrow on Sunday?" Ron asked. "Malfoy as well," He added quickly, nodding at the blond. "I know the family are dying to see you, Hermione. And with it being your birthday, we thought it would be the perfect time for you to come and visit."

"Sorry, but Hermione and I have plans for the weekend," Draco answered quickly, before his girlfriend could answer.

"We do?" Hermione turned to Draco with a frown.

"Let me rephrase that, I have plans to whisk my gorgeous girlfriend away for the weekend to celebrate her birthday," Draco corrected. "See, another benefit of it just being the two of us. Sex in the middle of the day, and impromptu weekends away."

"You're taking me away for the weekend?" Hermione asked, unable to stop the smile that broke out across her lips. "Where to?"

"It's a surprise," Draco replied. "The whole thing was actually supposed to be a surprise."

"Sorry," Ron apologised.

"It's okay," Draco said with a shrug.

"Maybe we can arrange for the pair of you to visit us another weekend," Harry suggested.

"Yeah," Hermione answered with a nod, even though she wasn't quite sure it would be happening any time soon.

In the last three weeks, Hermione had seen Harry and Ron a couple of times. She'd even seen Ginny as the redhead had turned up on their last outing and after a quick apology to Hermione, proceeded to pretend as though she hadn't spent over three years ignoring her. However, Harry and Ron hadn't been able to brush things off as easily as Ginny and they'd struggled to re-connect with Hermione. Truth be told, Hermione also struggled to re-connect with the pair.

Ironically things were slightly easier with Ron. Hermione could partially understand why Ron hadn't wanted to remain friends following their break-up. Their break-up hadn't been pretty and without the break, they would have likely both said things they would be able to take back. However, with time apart things weren't as raw and they were both able to look back on their relationship and admit it was never going to work between them. Although, despite being able to lay some ghosts to rest, they was still the natural tension that existed between them as a result of them being exes. Because of their past relationship, things would always be slightly weird between them, and Hermione knew they'd never manage to become more than casual friends. The close bond they'd shared back in school was gone.

Hermione's close bond with Harry had also gone, albeit for different reasons. While Hermione had been able to understand part of Ron's reaction following their break-up, she couldn't quite get over Harry abandoning her. She'd managed to forgive him for his actions, but there was a part of her resented the fact that he'd just brushed her aside so easily. He could have been like George, who'd kept in contact with her, but instead he'd ignored her just like Ron. To Hermione that said that Harry hadn't cared for her the way she'd always thought he had. Because of that, she was reluctant to really allow Harry back into her heart, and like with Ron she thought the best they could manage was casual friends.

Hermione was pleased she had the pair back in her life, and she was happy to call them friends, but that was as far as it went. No longer were they the first port of call when something vital happened in her life. No longer were they her best friends, who she knew would stand by her whatever life threw at her. For the important things in life, she had Draco. He was the number one person in her life, and that was the way it was going to stay. Harry and Ron may have been back in her life, but they'd lost the valued positions of best friends. After everything that had happened, they were merely a couple of friends, and they should be grateful that Hermione even allowed them that much. Luckily for them, Hermione was the forgiving sort, and she'd given them a second chance, just like she'd done with Draco.

The only difference between her forgiving Harry and Ron for abandoning her and forgiving Draco for his past actions was that her friends had both done something Draco had never done. They'd broken her heart, and Hermione wasn't giving them a second chance with that. Her heart was now closed to the two former Gryffindors, and it rested safely in the embrace of her Slytherin wizard. Draco was now the keeper of her heart, and Hermione was confident he would never break it. With him, her heart was safe, and Hermione was the happiest she'd ever been in her life.

 **The End.**

* * *

 **A/N – Thanks to everyone for reading and reviewing – as always it's greatly appreciated.**

 **I just want to announce that this will be my last story for a while as I'm going to take a break. I will be publishing Children and Where we Belong as scheduled, but there'll be no new stories or collection pieces for the next few weeks.**

 **After the fuss on Where we Belong, and an incident with this story I feel I need a break. As I've said on numerous occasions, I have no problems with people not liking a story or even just part of a story. (It's not as though I like everything I read – either on this site or with real books). I love hearing what people have to say about my stories, and I'm always interested in their opinions (and theories in mystery stories). I even welcome constructive criticism as it helps me become a better writer. However, just lately I've felt as though I've had more than my fair share of rude, condescending reviews – and especially reviews where people think they have the right to tell me how to write my stories.**

 **I don't want to stop publishing on this site completely as I have so many lovely, loyal supporters who seem to get genuine enjoyment from my stories. However, I feel I need a break before the negativity gets too much and I end up walking away from publishing on here for good. So, I'm going to take a step back for a few weeks before I return with fresh stories and new collection pieces.**

 **In the meantime, thanks for all the great support I've received since I've started to publish on this site (which far outweighs the negative comments I've had). I'll be back soon, but for now thank you for reading.**


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